Government Backs Two Private Members' Bills on Family and Carers' Rights
The Government has given its backing to two Private Members' Bills which, if passed, would strengthen the workplace rights of staff who take time off work on maternity or family leave, or who have caring responsibilities.
Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill
Under current UK employment law, if a person on maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave is given enhanced redundancy rights until the end of their leave. If a redundancy scenario arises during the leave, the person on leave must be offered a suitable alternative vacancy where one is available with the employer or an associated employer.
For some time, there has been an intention to extend this period of protection in order to cover not only the period of leave itself, but also the period six months after the end of the leave. It had been understood that this enhanced protection would be included in the Employment Bill, which is yet to be announced. A Private Members' Bill has now been introduced in order to provide this enhanced protection. At its second reading on 21 October, the Bill was passed with Government support.
Carer's Leave Bill
A second Private Members' Bill was also backed by the Government on 21 October 2022. The Carer's Leave Bill will introduce a new, flexible entitlement to one week's unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care. This will be a day-one right, and the leave will be available to take flexibly to suit the individual's responsibilities. Employee taking the leave will be afforded the same protection as those who take other types of leave. They will therefore be protected from dismissal or detriment as a result of having taken time off.
Speculation About the Future of the Employment Bill
Both these new workplace protections had been intended to be included under the Employment Bill, which we have previously reported was announced by the Government in 2019, but put on hold during the pandemic, and then omitted from the Queen's Speech earlier this year. The Employment Bill has not been formally dropped, however given the progress of these two Private Members' Bills through parliament, our assumption is that the Employment Bill is not a current Government priority.